Secret Preparation UNLEASHED: Rare & Tricky Sicilian Gambit

In this video, I share my round 2 chess game against FM Vatsal Singahania from the 2022 Abu Dhabi Masters Tournament. The game featured a rare, tricky, and ulta-aggressive line of the Sicilian Defense.
Live broadcast: lichess.org/br...
Watch live at / imrosen
Merch: shop.imrosen.com/
SPECIAL OFFERS!
♙♙ChessUp Smart Board: Use coupon code ROSEN to save 10% at checkout: bryghtlabs.com...
♙♙ Kasparov Chess: Use code ROSEN to get a 7-day free trial, 50% off memberships and receive a KASPAROV AUTOGRAPHED BOOK of “How Life Imitates Chess” (for paid annual memberships, activated after trial period). kasparovchess....
♙♙E-Win Gaming Chairs: Use the code imrosen to save 20% off any gaming chair: bit.ly/3AVLgvf
SUPPORT MY WORK:
♙♙Subscribe on Twitch: / imrosen
♙♙Support: www.paypal.me/...
SAVE MONEY AND IMPROVE YOUR GAME:
♙♙Chess.com Premium Membership--try it free for 7 days: go.chess.com/i...
♙♙Limitless Chess: Get video lessons from great instructors, including me! Use the code ROSEN to save 10% www.limitlessc...
♙♙ Master the London: Get 50% off my 8-hour video London Opening video course: www.ichess.net...
Sign up for my newsletter: mailchi.mp/d6e...
Visit my Amazon store for chess books, tea and more: www.amazon.com...
See me in the Chess State documentary (2015): vimeo.com/onde...
Chess book recommendations: imrosen.com/bo...
Disclaimer: Some links in the description are affiliate links and I may receive a commission on purchases made through these links. Thank you for supporting my content!
Send Me Fan Mail:
Eric Rosen
4579 Laclede Ave. # 205
St. Louis, MO 63108
♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙
MAIN CHANNEL: / rosenchess
ERIC ROSEN CLIPS: / ericrosenclips
ERIC ROSEN EXTRA: / ericrosenextra
TWITCH: / imrosen
WEBSITE: www.imrosen.co...: imrosen.com/
DISCORD: bit.ly/2KTDlBK
TWITTER: bit.ly/2sFmNqa
INSTAGRAM: bit.ly/2HspaBa
LICHESS: lichess.org/@/...
CHESS.COM: www.chess.com/...
♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙♙
#chess #ericrosen

[@SanyaJuutilainen]

The opponent preparing against Stafford really amused me - Eric's really famous for that~

[@thecakeredux]

Me, too. I can see that if you play enough games OTB, the time Eric invested into learning tricky Stafford lines eventually breaking even with the time opponents waste preparing against it just to be on the save side, and after that point all the hours of funny lines were not only fun, but useful.

[@GaryTheGray]

Eric being Eric ...Serious tournament. let's go with a "tricky, offbeat, maybe slightly dubious opening"... Congratulations on your win!

[@george5954]

The amount of prep for positions that you don't even know will come to pass on the board is insane. Nice win !

[@TheChessGiant]

Eric Rosen knows his openings.

[@davidagyemang6574]

You make Great content man

[@mohamedshakir1642]

I love Ur channel man

[@Maikovichi]

Having prep till move 17, such scary. But this would never work against me! I do something stupid at move 2 and leave you baffled, hehe.

[@leadnitrate2194]

His prep ended at move 12, didn't it

[@Maikovichi]

@@leadnitrate2194 the route they took ended at 12, but he went through another route he prepped till move 17, to me that also counted.

[@SimsHacks]

He's an IM. Pretty normal.

[@MostLikelyMortal]

Eric is in such a competitive edge with how his opponents have to deal with prepping the Stafford against him, leaving him to prep/play whatever he wants with his opponents on their heels. Good game, Eric!

[@lucasmatsuoca]

yeah, probably every e4 player opponent that has white pieces against him has some slight concern like: "wait, what if he plays the stafford, that shouldn't be a big of a deal right, engine says it's bad for black....hm, god dammit i have to check this bs"

[@noThankyou-g5c]

I think one of the best ways to be good at chess isn’t necessarily to play the mathematically “best” moves but to constantly play the trickiest moves over and over. I think Eric rlly embodies that well and this game was a great example. the game was basically even but leaning in whites favor all the way right until the end. but bc white had to spend so much time thinking through such a complicated position he eventually slipped under time pressure.

[@jotamatone2751]

gigachad eric rosen forces opponent to use 50 mins of time playing against his 13 moves of prep AS BLACK

[@markhunter9303]

Great to bounce back after that tricky rd 1 match. Keep it going Mr R!

[@sleeponthefloor9622]

Eric and his many gambits. Always fun to watch.

[@bru7alhuku832]

Eric is explaining everything very well. As 2000 rating the most of the things I understand and see and basically I dont need explanation but overall he explains everything extremely well. Congratulations!!!!

[@ijebusjebus]

Sac a rook for a knight and -40 off your opponents clock is a solid trade ;P

[@alexanderperl6945]

Hey Eric, we played a classical Sicilian a few weeks ago on twitch. Definitely nice to see you use it otb. Keep up the good play and thanks for the recaps

[@davidpatton7298]

Love your channel, Eric. Thanks for the miles of lessons.

[@adamjohnson9188]

I absolutely loved this video! I was curious about some of the engine lines so I kind of followed along the video in a lichess analysis board which was a lot of fun. Very interesting game and very cool gambit

[@gerardduffy3406]

It's great to see the analysis without the engine and then with it. I find that insightful and something that I've never tried myself.

[@garys5175]

Great stuff Eric Rosen! Love the tournament game recaps. Best of luck on your future games.

[@MyBiPolarBearMax]

Get food, get rest (nap if you can), stay aggressive and fearless! Edit: just saw the end xD do all that! Sleep/food/having your brain in top position is literally the most important thing you can do to more than any prep. You got this!

[@jordylont1879]

Such a great game! In control from the beginning

[@fsr1960]

It was funny to hear you talk about this line as if it were some novelty. The rook sac line was au courant around 50 years ago, played by the likes of Larsen, Tal, Hort, and Gheorghiu. I played it myself in 1975-76, albeit at a much lower level. I see that White's best-scoring response is to play 8.f4 rather than 8.O-O-O. Black's rook on c8, all geared up for the exchange sac, looks a little goofy if White castles kingside.

[@Scenery505]

Prep videos are the best, love new tricky lines.

[@yral247]

I never have the attention span to watch a recap of this size, i know but shorts have ruined me. But this was really entertaining, great game Eric!

[@D1ego313]

Man, you’re one slick trappy player, maybe the trappiest that I watch, I boy do I ever enjoy watching it lol

[@gazm2142]

Dudee i’ll be coming to abu dhabi in sept , hope you’re still there by then, i would love to play one game with you irl, you’re the reason i started playing chess!

[@DeSchurken]

Thank you for another very educational video, Eric. I'm still very much an amateur and I don't have the brains to be a very good player, but your videos have helped me improve my play a lot already. Cheers to you, mate. Keep up the good work.

[@willc3421]

That looked like amazing prep, really nice game

[@omarcos3228]

I like the variation as a suprise. I would give at thought to c6 and after Qg7 check I d exchange queens releasing bishop and rook. As player with lesser space I d look for exchange but I didn t analyse tactics yet. It s one of those sharp sicilian lines and it s strategically good. As you take over initiative from the white early in the game what is the basic advange of white in sicilian. That pawn chain that results after c6 would dominate the endgame.

[@DavidfromMichigan]

Abu Dhabi!? Hey, there was a survey just conducted between Abu Dhabi and Dubai about who likes the cartoon The Flintstones . Apparently the people in Dubai don't, but the people in..ABU DHABI DOOOO!

[@adamstewart247]

Very enjoyable line and win! Congratulations 👏🥳

[@fulgentiuswilly5043]

Yum, excited for more

[@LXWiseman]

Congrats on the win :)

[@birdtalon]

Fantastic game well done Eric.

[@devilbob]

The thing I don't really admire about serious chess tournaments is the ability to *prepare* for your next opponent. Would be so much wilder if you'll know, who you plaing against, only right before the game.

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

Preparation is itself a skill of its own. Good versus bad preparation could make or break your chances at winning. Besides, while you have the ability to prepare for your opponent, your opponent has the ability to prepare for you, and you never know how that will pan out for them.

[@ItsAsparageese]

I'm torn. Both of you are entirely right about pros and cons of both scenarios. I think it's a personal taste thing really, so I'm happy as long as individuals get to play whatever format they like best 🤷‍♂️

[@angelmendez-rivera351]

@@ItsAsparageese I mean, it is perfectly fine to prefer the other format. I just think that implying that this format is somehow "less skilled" or "less admirable" is definitely short sighted, and it pushes the boundary of personal opinion into the territory of questionable.

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@angelmendez-rivera351 Good criticism, I can agree with that characterization of that position if it's stated broadly like that. That said, they did make it an I-statement implying the personalness of the opinion rather than just labeling it "less admirable" in a more general way, so I'd argue they're still on the reasonable side of the figurative line

[@shreyas4359]

Eric : this is a dubious opening Also Eric in his mind : be ready to get crushed

[@jamestickle3070]

‘Help me chess master! I’m stuck’- Eric’s bishop

[@tpiano1165]

trying to get likes on comments be like:

[@1.4142]

The best strategy is to hype up the stafford and to play something completely different

[@davidgodfrey880]

Good luck on the rest of the tournament

[@stealthyshadow567]

Super interesting game, white didn’t seem to obviously mess up anywhere, but by around move 20 it seems like white just had too many long term weaknesses and it was impossible to defend everything by that point.

[@walterbrownstone8017]

Eric Rosen gets the prize for playing the most creative openings on KZbin.

[@pdef5527]

The surprise got him into time trouble. So even though it was fairly equal during midgame, this was very well played!

[@DenzelLN936]

Love a bit of RosenTheory

[@thestockfishgirl2681]

Eric and his tricks!

[@zelandakhniteblade5436]

I think this is a good line with excellent practical chances. I am interested what was planned if white sidesteps it with 10. Bd2 though. 10. f4 might be natural but it just feels like a mistake unless white is properly booked up on the ensuing complications, particularly against a player like Eric whose main strength lies in that area.

[@scottcarlass8887]

Bravo Eric! Even with the "slightly dubious opening".

[@SEAKPhotog]

A very "Rosen" win!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@PetitAmiral]

Bravo Eric! Good luck for your coming match.

[@Toggik]

This was great game!!! Good luck in Abu Dhabi!

[@weetjijwel050]

Congrats, clean victory. 1 out of 2, letsgoooo!

[@gammaknife167]

I'm a simple man. I see a positional Rxc3, I click

[@tangalexander5561]

i also play classical sicilian. i don't know if i would try this line. it involves giving up an exchange. if things get out of control, there is high chance to lose the game

[@MacDaniboi]

The sick part is that he is still "only" an IM. GMs have even deeper prep and better plans. How do these people manage?

[@edwardking9207]

For the content, bribe your next opponent to play into a Stafford.

[@kislevzoleta]

great stuff puts spice in the game

[@shadou1234567]

Fantastic game

[@garagavia]

Cool game Ecir!

[@goodforyou9596]

Eric's trick speaks for himself.

[@KnightRichie]

Let’s gooooooo!!!!! Waiting for u to become GM.

[@speztube6457]

congrats on the win! The life of a professional chess player, needing to memorise so many lines of prep, face time pressure and short breaks, just seems so tough and miserable!

[@animefreak3010]

Nah sounds fun

[@speztube6457]

@@animefreak3010 for that same amount of effort, one would be paid a lot more in many other professions (while still play chess [as a game, not for a living] on the weekends)

[@drewtietz2274]

So good. Love your content Eric

[@Hasan...]

Majority of this game was already a prep for Eric 😅👍🏻

[@Chuckiele]

Imagine thinking for 40 minutes while your opponent isnt even at the board because hes still in prep

[@GrahamSowash]

Good work E!

[@judithcabanero]

E

[@kaishah2822]

E

[@irjake]

What was white's idea with Kc3 at 14:41? It really just seems to expose the king with no concrete advantages.

[@Krell54]

Eric also knows his endgames.

[@GB2010ize]

tricky Eric. first full point!!

[@snonmouse6596]

Great prep Eric!

[@Crisis_Jones]

5 o clock shadow looks good. Keep it and terrify your opponent like Shak

[@andrewbrannon6722]

Well played man

[@Hasan...]

10:18 why not Bxc4 and get the pawn trading the bishops? 🤔 then after Rxb7 Option 1: Qxa2 (free pawn), Option 2: Bishop check and then be able to castle?

[@ramonpg98]

Cause after queen takes, white's queen can take on e5 with check, and then with the rook infiltrating on the seventh row looks like scary position for black

[@JAkob11Morastus]

and what about Qxe5?

[@Hasan...]

@@JAkob11Morastus Oh.

[@Hasan...]

@@ramonpg98 Oops yeah missed that! thnx

[@Killopotamus]

Amazing, love your style

[@AgnaktoreX]

Why do people on Erics level prepare against the stafford gambit, there are like 3 moves you need to know to hold the position or you can just not allow it

[@seanm3189]

Nothing more dubious than the Sicilian defense lmao

[@elijahvictor4077]

Well done boss. Great job

[@kumarkrishnan857]

IM Eric Rosen is very well on the way to becoming a GM...Congrats on the win Eric!

[@cnelsonlv99]

4:03 People bash Bobby Fischer and call him insane... but this completely proves his point. At the highest level, chess (at least for humans) is about memorization of openings. Not knocking Eric or any other chess players who are willing to put in the work... but I have to say... it's obscenely boring!

[@Rude_i_Wredne]

Opponent really went wrong with their preparation. You shouldn't prepare against Stafford. Not because Eric doesn't play it in classical, but because whenever he will, we need to get some content out of it.

[@AsacaFernandez]

Jobava London in the third round?

[@vatsalmakol7]

I will take, my friend's revenge!!! Beware you Duck Grandmaster Eric!!!!

[@meneermankepoot]

Nice game, enjoy your food and rest :)

[@damiannogamusic]

Good game 🎉

[@freeuae7930]

i cant believe that i might see u tommorow LOLL

[@asOO3tnCC]

@8:00 why not play queen a5 instead of queen c7? Defending the pawn and attacking 2 pawns?

[@getrightw1tcha]

Qc7 enables d5 in some positions as it occured later on in the game, since e5 is protected c:

[@asOO3tnCC]

Thanks!

[@DeBert]

After Kd2 (instead of resigning), it seems Bb4+ is an even quicker mate, e.g. Kd1 Qa1+ Ke2 Qxe1# or c3 Qxc3+ Ke3 Qd2# But a very nice game! Edit: never mind, should have watched the end of the vid... :/

[@1erRadiant]

Nice win Eric

[@RyanEmmett]

Nice win 🙂

[@kristjanprodan5059]

Im sorry but you look like Milhouse from the simpsons in this thumbnail 😂. Not hating, i just thought it was kinda funny, in a good way.

[@phenix2403]

Sicilians are the best

[@gurulaca1]

Why don't 13. ...f6?

[@Joe-zu7lx]

exciting!

[@IkedaDogbo]

Maybe slightly dubious

[@iDC-Javi]

Dunno, feels a bit odd to me when chess becomes a memorization game of whatever stockfish said during prep

[@bobthemadmonkey]

Well you probably aren't a professional right?

[@iDC-Javi]

@@bobthemadmonkey obv not, it's not criticism towards Eric, just a melancholic observation of the reality of chess prep. I think that's why more and more people prefer to watch blitz where prep matters less

[@Lil_mar00]

Why does Eric never castle his king?

[@ItsAsparageese]

He does in some games now and then, but yeah you're right I suppose it doesn't come up too often compared to many other players. I'm amateur af and new to the community but my impression/inference is that it's because he's so solid with trappy attacks and generally is better off keeping pressure/pace up rather than spending any moves on prophylactic defense unless it's absolutely necessary. But again, I might not be characterizing his playstyle right, this is just how it seems to me from what I've seen so far in his more casual games

[@Lil_mar00]

@@ItsAsparageese thanks for the response. I would love to hear more from the community regarding Eric's castling.

[@aidengaming4230]

this is well known. I have played vs this otb lol

[@alireza-cn2xr]

Veery nice

[@pietropiscina6916]

Never play Kc3

[@alon3304]

Please hide the notation it ruins the recap

[@ItsAsparageese]

Why? I think it's super useful. If you don't want spoilers or whatever, just cover that part of your screen I guess? (I understand not being able to consciously avoid reading text that's right in front of you)

[@alon3304]

@@ItsAsparageese It spoils the result

[@ItsAsparageese]

@@alon3304 Right, so ... Just cover that part of your screen I guess

[@j.21]

.

[@JapaneseTutor]

First

[@j.21]

You are the first person to comment "First"!

[@arjunraman7276]

fifth

[@hajosdseerzsebeti9903]

Eric! Can i get a heart for this comment? Pls